Optic Fibres:
Vapour Permeability - the Critical Property

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No matter if you are using optical fibres for transferring data long distances (especially under water where signal attenuation is important) or are using it as a sensor (for example in an oil well for gas analysis or to measure temperature or pressure) the property that is critical to its use is its vapour permeability. And this is where Versaperm equipment can make a huge difference.

The optic fibre industry is valued at several hundred million dollars a year for sensing applications in the petroleum industry alone. Unfortunately the vapour permeability of an optic fibre is tough to measure with conventional techniques and some people have relied on the published values for flat samples - and ignored the manufacturing process which can change this value by a factor of at least four times. Fortunately, Versapem's new permeability meter can measure the permeability of a fibre quickly and with an accuracy well into the Parts Per Million (PPM) range.

The system is simple and to use and requires, at most, minimal training. It also requires little or no re-calibration. Some results can be produced in just a few hours. The highly automated equipment can optionally be configured to measure permeability against a variety of gasses, including all of the ones critical to the various uses of optical fibres. Measurements can be made against almost all gasses including hydrogen, hydrocarbons, oxygen, carbon dioxide, helium and water vapour.

Versaperm also offers a laboratory testing service and technical consultancy for companies that test too few samples to make the purchase of equipment viable.